


But, even as your knees buckle and the edges of your vision go black, you stand.

by scowltheowl



Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Genre: Blood tw??, M/M, POV Second Person, my first fic so idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24136027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scowltheowl/pseuds/scowltheowl
Summary: DISCONTINUED (unless later I feel like updating.) Beverly lost to the Crag in Galederon. But what if he didn’t? If he managed to defeat the barbarian, and win his father’s freedom? Would Thiala have taken Galederon? Would the Green Knights have ended up in the Faewild? Would Beverly and Erlin still end up together? (spoiler: yes, they totally will)
Relationships: Erlin Kindleaf/Beverly Toegold V, Moonshine Cybin & Hardwon Surefoot & Beverly Toegold V
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

You look up at your friends. “I need you to talk me out of being the one to go up there and fight for my father.” 

They share a look, one that tells you everything you need to know. _He’s a child, we can’t let him do this_ and it hurts, but they’re right, and you want to do it, but at the same time, you’re so scared, and you just want to be a little kid again and not needing to fight to the death to save your father, for someone bigger and stronger than you to solve your problems for you. You’re so distracted that you don’t notice that their expressions have changed until Hardwon reaches down, and clasps your shoulder.

“I think there’s nobody better than you to go out there, and win this for him. He’s never been proud of you, right? This is your chance to prove your worth. You got this, kid.” He’s giving you a look that’s still fearful, even as he claps your shoulder, even through the walls he tries to put up.

Moonshine nods enthusiastically, too enthusiastically. “Yeah! You got this, young Bev.”

You shouldn’t have even thought that they should do this for you. He’s your dad, not theirs. They have no responsibility to him, or to you for that matter. But you smile at them, as brightly as you can muster (too over the top, they must know you’re faking), and stand a little straighter. “Thanks guys. I was expecting you to talk me out of it, but you’re right. This is my fight, not yours.” Before they can say anything, you turn and walk out towards the front. “I will fight for my father, Beverly Toegold the Fourth.” You see your father’s face fall, horrified. He... of course he doesn’t believe in you. 

“Bev? What’s going on?”

The Crag steps forward. “Think you’re gonna save your daddy, kid?”

Before you can say anything, your father begins to speak. “Bev, I- I- I’m p- I. I’m proud of you, Bev! No matter what happens!” His head is turned towards you, kind of, and the sight of his pearl-white eyes brings alights a righteous flame in your belly, burning up the pit of fear that had formed.

You turn back towards the Crag. “I plan to.”

He glares at you and lifts his axe, and you ready your sword, prepared to block a blow. He’s taller than you by a lot, so you guard mostly your head and shoulders.

As he goes recklessly low and buries his axe into your side, you realize your mistake. He draws it back, and goes for another, similar swing, which you block with relative ease, expecting it this time. The wound hurts, but you bite back your yelp, only letting out a shuddering breath. You call forth holy power as you strike into him, and vines from your sword to wrap around him. He bursts through, and you get another slice in before he brings his axe down again. He quickly whips the axe back after the first hit, but it only scratches your chest on the second pass. You move to make a swing, but are forced to dodge as he brings the axe down again, and you miss. Wounds bleeding heavily, body aching, you look down at the amulet of Pelor, praying for help, guidance, anything. You feel your wounds begin to heal as the holy light flows through you.

“Bev! He’s raging, he’s resistant to damage! You gotta do magic damage!” The panicked voice of your father calls out, above the other voices of the crowd.

You don’t respond, you’re breathing too heavy, but you take his words, and ask Pelor again to aid you, to help you bring justice. Your sword glows with radiant energy, and you slash into the Crag. He staggers, but stands strong. 

“You’re tougher than you look, you little bastard.” He swings wildly, and while one hit gets you good in your shoulder, the other goes over your head.

“I have everything on the line. I have justice, and Pelor, on my side.” You’re wheezing the words out, but you can’t just let him trash talk you. You swing as you speak, and miss once before your blade, still wreathed in holy light, cuts into his chest.

His knees buckle for a moment, blood seeping from his wounds, and he raises his axe over his head. “I don’t know what gods you’re using or how you’re cheating, you little shit, but I’m gonna knock you out, possibly kill you, then I’m gonna chop off your daddy’s head, and punt his dead body off an airship.” He slashes into you, and you sink to one knee, the edges of your vision beginning to go black. His axe clashes into your sword. “You’re gonna fucking die here, kid.” He pushes down on it, heavy, heavier than you could ever manage to defend against.

But you do. Your legs strain, your whole body struggling to keep your sword raised above your head. You look at the gathered crowd. Moonshine and Hardwon and your mother are watching, fear in their eyes. You glance towards the milky white eyes of your father again, and more divine energy begins to burn in your chest, or maybe it’s just adrenaline and fear and terror, but it gives you the strength you need to surge upwards. You twist your sword, and dart out of the way, sending both the Crag’s weapon and your own flying. The weapons clatter to the ground behind you, skittering into the audience. You ready your stance. “No. I won’t.” You rush, shoulder first, and the Crag is so unprepared that he’s knocked down, despite you being a quarter his size. He manages to turn and land on his front, but you quickly get him in a chokehold. He struggles, but you’ve gotten strong, stronger than anyone would have guessed, stronger than even you knew. You squeeze tight until the Crag goes limp, and a few more seconds just to make sure, then release his neck, and let his upper half drop to the floor. The room is dead silent, until Moonshine begins clapping and Hardwon whoops. “Hell yeah, kid!” 

You shoot a smile their way, then take a single, wobbling step towards your father before your vision goes dark, and you pass out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the only way the author knows how to transition is by the POV character going unconscious, again. I swear the next chapter won’t do that. I can only have him sleep so much after all. (This stuff isn’t beta read. Excuse stupid errors, please.)

You awaken on your bed, whole body aching. “Did I win?”

“You won, sweetie.” 

You open your eyes slowly, seeing your mom sitting on the end of your bed. A quick glance around your room reveals that Hardwon is in your bean bag, and Moonshine is seated on your desk. Not at it, on it. It’s like a bench for her, albeit a very tall bench. She has to hang her head a bit to fit, but still seems comfortable. Pawpaw rests on her lap, in a rare show of non-scramble-ness. “Yeah, young Bev. You were amazing!” 

You can’t help but smile. “Thanks Moonshine. I couldn’t have done it without your support. And Hardwon, when did you get an instrument?” You know he won’t answer, but you figure you’ll ask. Just to make sure that your suspicions are correct. 

Hardwon looks away. “I uh, found it. Figured I’d pick it up, since you guys seemed so intent on having a band. Anyways, you did good, kid. Knew it was a good idea for you to go do that.”

There’s an audible knock on the door from downstairs. “It’s Cran, Erlin and Derlin! May we come in?” A smile finds its way to your face. Thank goodness they got back from Moonstone alright.

“Sure thing, kids! We’re up in Bev’s room! Just wipe your feet!” your mom responds, looking towards the door for a moment. 

You go to sit up, and, while it hurts, you do it regardless. “Where’s dad? How long was I out?”

Your mom pats your leg. “A few hours. Your father’s with the Green Knights, said he had to discuss who could have killed Merrick Highhill with them. He wanted me to tell you how proud he is of you. You did great, sweetie.”

The door eases open slowly, and Cran peers in. “Hey Beverly. Hello Mrs. Toegold. Hello scoutmasters.” She enters, leaving the door open behind her. 

Derlin follows. “We heard that your dad got accused of murdering Merrick Highhill, and that you defended him in a trial by combat, and beat the Crag. That’s so cool, dude!”

Erlin is the last to enter, a little bit shy about it. “Are you okay, Bev?”

You find yourself feeling flustered by his concern, but you hide it as best you can. “Hey guys! I’m fine. Still a little sore from the fight, but overall fine.” If you’re being honest with yourself here, you don’t want to talk about it. In fact, you’d like very much to just go back to sleep. But everyone’s in here, and expecting things of you, and you won’t let them down.

Quickly, Moonshine steps in, thankfully sensing your unwillingness to talk about it. “How’ve you kids been doing? It’s good to see you got back from Moonstone alright!”

“Denny tried to convince us to go with him, but the druids convinced him that we would be okay then escorted us here,” Derlin explains. 

Cran snorts. “Didn’t take much convincing. Craven piece of-” She then glances at your mom for a second, and doesn’t finish the sentence.

This seems to baffle your mom. “Did Denny do something wrong? I know he’s been a little bit cowardly in the past, but-”

Hardwon stands up, bumps his head into the ceiling, and sits back down. You snort at his misfortune, and he glares at you. “Denny let these kids get kidnapped by bullywugs, then hired me and Moonshine to go with Bev to save them. He also interrupted a funeral to run the ceremony for Bev becoming a sixth leaf Green Teen. And just, really, did a whole bunch of other things that put other people in danger for the sake of his own safety.”

When your mom glances over at you to confirm this, you nod. “Yeah. It was… It was an adventure. A lot happened.” You swipe your hair back to show the scar on your forehead, and your mother gasps.

“Dude, what happened?” Erlin asks.

You’re getting sick of explaining this to people. But you’re the one that brought it up. Stupid. “I tried to goof an all-seeing god. It didn’t go well. I fell off a big tower. My legs got shattered, so the scoutmasters carried me here, and my dad called Merrick Highhill. Then, after he healed me, my dad went with him up to the church district, and the next thing I knew my dad was being tried for his murder. And you heard the story of the rest. How do you know the story, by the way?” You hold back a yawn.

“Egwene told this guy, who immediately came to find us, and tell us,” Cran says, patting Erlin on the shoulder.

“Who’s Egwene?” Moonshine asks.

Erlin frowns. “My older sister.”

You try again to hold back a yawn, but this time it comes out at full force, obnoxiously loud. “Sorry, I just-”

Your mom pats your leg soothingly again, and stands up from where she was sitting on the foot of your bed. “You should get some rest, sweetie. We’ll clear out.”

You try to shake your head to dismiss the idea. “I’m fine.”

Cran holds a hand up. “Beverly. You just fought the king’s best guard on your own, to keep your dad from being killed on the spot. Needing a longer nap after that isn’t weak, it’s reasonable. Stop being stupid.” 

You sigh, and lay back down. Everyone files out of your room, your mom smiling at you as she closes the door. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks mom.”

She closes the door, and you’re out in seconds.


	3. Chapter 3

When you awaken the next time, it’s mid-afternoon. You hear people talking downstairs, and lie there for a moment, listening. You feel much better. Still sore, but better. Slowly, gingerly, you stand up, and trod towards the door. You make it all the way downstairs before anyone notices you’re awake. It’s Hardwon who first notices you, face turning up into a smile when he does. They’re all sitting in the living room, Hardwon and Moonshine on the floor, the other Green Teens on the couch, Egwene on one of the armchairs, Nana Kindleaf on the other, and your mom on a chair pulled into the room from the dining room. There’s a platter of meats and cheeses and crackers on the coffee table. 

“Hey kid, you’re just in time for snacks,” Hardwon says, pointing to the platter with one hand, slices of sausage and cheese between crackers in the other. The snack, which is pretty large, is dwarfed by his large hand. Haha. Dwarfed.

“The smell of charcuterie wakes the warrior,” Cran teases, a grin on her face. 

“Cran, stop razzing him. You’re being rude,” Erlin huffs. 

“I’m not being rude, am I? Derlin?”

Derlin shrugs. “Kinda. I mean he’s had a rough day.”

“Hey! I wanted you to take my side, Derlin!” She punches him in the arm, with no real force to it.

Nana Kindleaf reaches over and pokes Cran with her cane. “Such a fresh child. Don’t know why my boy’s friends with you.”

Cran sighs. “Sorry Nana Kindleaf.” She then looks over at you apologetically. “Sorry Beverly.”

You shrug. “It’s fine. Could you make room on the couch?”

The couch, decidedly designed for two adult halflings comfortably, three in a pinch, is tight, but you do some finagling, and you end up wedged in between Cran and Erlin. Cran scoots closer to you, too close, forcing you to sit practically on top of Erlin.

“Sorry. Derlin seemed squished.”

With a small chuckle that he tries to hide, Derlin nods. “Yeah.” He and Cran share a conspiratorial look that you notice, and suddenly, it clicks, what they’re doing. Cran knows about your… not a crush, but your… the way you feel about Erlin, and told Derlin. You said she could, but you were hoping she wouldn’t (but you knew she totally would. She and Derlin have been thick as thieves lately. Leaving you with Erlin. It’s a vicious cycle)

“It’s fine. I’ll just sit on the floor with the scoutmasters,” you offer.

Erlin shakes his head and shifts to try to give you more space. “No, dude, it’s fine.” That throws you for a loop. Why would Erlin be in on that? Your friends would try to set you two up, but they wouldn’t actively try to mess with you like that. Would they? Because, while not a bad goof worthy of getting knocked off a tower, it would still be a pretty bad goof. And they all got their humor patches. Not that that apparently means all that much.

“I can hear the gears turning. What’s going on in that head of yours?” Cran asks, bumping her shoulder into yours.

You quickly pull up a lie, because there’s no way you’re telling them about that train of thought. Especially in front of Moonshine and Hardwon. “Just thinking about who could have…y’know, killed Merrick Highhill. And why, if no clear successor was to take his place. And why not kill the current High Sceptin? Unless their goal was to frame my dad. But why would they want my dad out of the way?” As you think about it, it actually does become a more pressing train of thought than your friends maybe pulling a bad goof. Who _would_ do that? “It wouldn’t be the white knights. They wouldn’t do that. Or would they? The Chosen? Would the Chosen do that? I mean, they’re knuckleheads, but they wouldn’t frame my dad for a murder so as to discredit the other paladin factions. Would they?”

“Well Galad Rosell is a self important fuck, so I wouldn’t put it past him to pull some shit like that,” Hardwon comments, picking more snacks from the platter. The side of it closer to him and Moonshine is nearly picked clean. You have a feeling Moonshine didn’t have much to do with it.

Nana Kindleaf leans over the table and bonks him on the head with her cane. “Fresh child. Swearing in front of the children.” The Green Teens of the couch all giggle.

Hardwon tries his best to hide his annoyance at both the scolding and the laughter of the Green Teens. But you’ve been around him long enough to notice the way his bushy eyebrows furrow, the ever so slight way he puffs his chest out and sits straighter, trying to look even bigger than he already is. “Look, all I’m saying is, why the he-” he glances over at Nana Kindleaf. “Why on earth would he have come over here with Merrick Highhill?”

Moonshine nods sagely. “Yeah. Young Bev, I remember you saying when we were with Tonathan that you’d never so much as talked to Galad. Why would he suddenly want to come to your house? And give you a sword nonetheless? Swords are expensive.”

“He gave you a sword too?” Derlin asks.

You pause. He gave Derlin a sword? Why? When? And why Derlin and not Cran or Erlin? “When did he give you a sword?”

“Yesterday, right when we got back. He came to talk to all of us yesterday morning, about what happened in Moonstone.”

“That’s suspicious,” Egwene comments, the first time she’s spoken this whole time. She’s sitting in the other armchair with a grave expression.

“Galad Rosell didn’t do it. He wouldn’t. He’s a little self absorbed, sure, but he wouldn’t kill Merrill Highhill,” your mom says. She’s staring at the charcuterie platter like it has the answers. It probably doesn’t. Actually, you’re insightful enough to know that it definitely doesn’t. You still take a slice of cheese and a cracker. You haven’t eaten since the bits you snacked on while you worked on the apology breakfast, so, in your haste to get it to your mouth, you elbow Cran in the side. She shoots you a look, but you ignore it. 

“We can’t trust anyone. Mom, where’s the amulet I was wearing? The cracked one?”

“It’s in your nightstand. Why?”

“I have something to show you guys. Hold on.” You spring from your position between Cran and Erlin, darting upstairs. It takes moments to retrieve the amulet of Pelor, and bring it back downstairs. When you show them, the Green Teens and Egwene gasp.

Erlin is staring at you, open mouthed. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Before I tried to play a goof on the all seeing god, I asked him why this amulet cracked. He told me that it was because Thiala broke her pact with Pelor. And our friend asked where the legendary heroes were, and he answered that Thiala and Ulfgar were on their way to Galederon. I… I think I understand now.”

Moonshine shakes her head. “What do you mean, Bev?” 

“When the legendary heroes killed Asmodeus, they acquired his divine heart. The graphic scrolls always skim over what happened to it. What if they took it? Or, more specifically. What if she did?”

“Beverly, what are you saying?” your mom asks, leaning in.

“The Chosen are waiting for their god, right? What if she’s it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter that doesn’t end in Bev falling asleep. Can I get a hell yeah


	4. Chapter 4

The room is silent for a moment, but you know these people. You can tell that, while shocked, they’re following your line of reasoning, and possibly agree.

Egwene is the first to stand up. “We need to get to the church district. The Green Knights and the White Knights need to know about this.” The other Green Teens and Hardwon and Moonshine quickly jump to their feet, Hardwon bumping his head on the ceiling again. 

You turn and get ready to book it. 

Moonshine reaches forward and grabs your wrist. “Bev, wait. We can’t just go running into there like something’s wrong, or the Chosen will know we know.”

You nod, and settle down for a moment. “And we shouldn’t all go. You’re right. Sorry, that was a bit hasty.”

“Why shouldn’t we all go? It’ll be more believable if all of us are there to back you up,” Erlin comments.

Egwene rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but then the Chosen will be suspicious. It’ll look better if Bev goes either on his own, or with these two, or with his mom. Then he can say he wanted to see his dad.” 

You shoot Erlin a sympathetic look. “She’s right. I’ll go on my own.”

“No, you won’t. If you’re right about all this, you’ll be in danger on your own,” your mom says, reaching out to put a hand on your shoulder. You’ll be in danger either way, and you on your own will be the least noticeable. 

Moonshine squeezes your wrist. “We’ll go with you. Right, Hardwon?” She looks back at him, and he nods. 

“Yeah. I don’t want you facing off against Galad on your own. Mainly cause if anyone is gonna kick his ass, I want to do it.” You immediately see through the posturing.

“Thanks guys.”

It only takes a few minutes to make your way up to the Church district. Your legs still ache a bit from earlier (you’re seventy five percent sure you pulled a muscle in your right leg) but this situation is too dire to focus on that. When you arrive at the Green Knight church, you see Galad Rosell himself outside, speaking to Lieutenant Duxley. Or, as you call him, uncle Duck. You gesture to Hardwon and Moonshine to stay quiet. 

Moonshine quickly pulls the both of you into a tight hug, and you feel her magic, like the water of a babbling stream, wash over you. “Let’s pass without trace, youngun.” The thought that she doesn’t trust you to be stealthy enough without magic enters your mind, but you quickly push it away. Better things to worry about. 

The three of you approach slowly, listening to what Galad is saying. “Look. I just want to talk to Captain Toegold. I know he was cleared of the crime, but I want to talk to him to see if he knows anything else so we can find out who did this.”

Uncle Duck frowns. “Captain Rosell, we appreciate your concern, but Captain Toegold is in no state to answer your questions right now. As you can imagine, the events of the last twenty four hours have been incredibly stressful for him.”

Galad shakes his head. “If I don’t question him now, something could happen. If he’s killed, or has his memory altered, we could lose the trail of the killer.”

That sets uncle Duck off. “Captain Rosell. Are you suggesting that the Green Knights cannot adequately protect our captain?”

Galad sneers. “Maybe I am. Or maybe I’m suggesting that you might be the ones he needs protecting from.” At that, he turns, and strides away. 

Once he’s good and gone, you climb out of the bushes. Uncle Duck stares at you. “Beverly?” You give him a look, trying to convey that this is serious. He nods. “You were very heroic this morning. Come on inside. Your pa’s been hoping you would come along.”

“Is it okay if my friends come inside?”

“I’m assuming you don’t mean the other Green Teens.”

Hardwon climbs from the bush. For being so big, he managed to fold himself in that bush very effectively. “No he doesn’t. Hardwon Surefoot. Denny bribed us into being scoutmasters to save the Green Teens from bullywugs.” 

Uncle Duck sighs, putting his face in his hands. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Well, come on in. You’re technically part of our organization now if Denny deputized you.” He opens the door for you, and you go inside. Luckily for Hardwon, the ceilings in here are higher. The Green Knights may have a high proportion of halflings, but there are plenty of humans, and halflings have no problems in human spaces. The other way around isn’t as convenient. As Moonshine enters, in the back of your group, uncle Duck closes the door. “Okay. Beverly, I could tell by that look that you have something to tell me. What is it?”

You see an identical sword to the one Galad gave you (though without the ‘stay cool- Galad Rosell’ engraving) and gesture to it. Uncle Duck sees it, and covers it. You pull out Thiala’s cracked amulet. “Thiala is the Chosen’s god, and I think they’re planning a coup of the Galederon government. I think Galad killed Merrick Highhill and tried to discredit my dad so the White Knights and the Green Knights didn’t have enough leadership to stand up against the coup.”

To your mild surprise, uncle Duck doesn’t react in shock. He simply sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “We suspected as much. Not the Thiala thing, but that the Chosen did this. But why do you think that Thiala is the Chosen god?”

“I asked an all-seeing god why it cracked, and he told me that she broke her pact with Pelor. And she’s on her way to Galederon now. And the graphic scrolls and the stories have always glossed over what happened to the divine heart left over after Asmodeus was killed. I’m not certain though, it could-,” you begin to say, second guessing yourself. You can’t just assume the worst. The handbook says to kill your idols, but you can’t just discredit Thiala that quickly. She’s one of the legendary heroes. You and the other Green Teens dreamed of being half as powerful as her. She can’t just be bad. Can she?

Uncle Duck puts a hand up. “Don’t doubt yourself, kid. You’ve got good instincts. It would certainly make sense with the Chosen deciding to act now. Though, the fact that the legendary hero who followed P is now… claiming to be a god? It’s um. It’s bad. Not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s bad. We should go tell your pa this, kiddo. He’s in the infirmary. The clerics and some of the other paladins are working together to see if they can heal those eyes of his.” 

Moonshine nods. “Ooh, maybe I can help. I do have a bit of healing magic myself. Get a little Melora in this Pelor action.”

“The more people helping the better,” uncle Duck says. At that he turns, and goes further into the church, towards the back where the infirmary is.

You look at Moonshine and Hardwon, then follow. 


End file.
